Jones wakes sleeping Wolves

There is a tide of thought in the Black Country that Wolves have been dormant for so long it is time someone took a stick and gave them a sharp prod to check they have not actually slipped into a coma.

The task of wielding the said implement has proved an onerous one for longer than they would care to remember at Molineux but, for now at least, there are definite signs of response.

A breakaway goal by Adam Proudlock three minutes from the end of this all-Midlands affair earned Wolves a fourth-round trip to Wycombe or Grimsby and gave their new manager Dave Jones a winning start.

For Jones, however, the result was only the subplot to the main drama. Making his return to management after the end of a lengthy personal ordeal when the case against him of alleged child abuse collapsed, this was always going to be more than just another match.

"I knew how our own supporters would react to me but I didn't know about other people and, yes, I was nervous coming to the ground," he said.

"I can't thank everyone enough. There has been nothing but good wishes from everyone, which was a great feeling because my family were all here too. What they have been through over the last 12 months I wouldn't put anyone through."

Presumably Jones did not hear the taunts emanating from A-block. His family, however, might be advised to keep their distance when Portsmouth visit Molineux next Saturday. "With my Southampton links they think I'm a scummer anyway," he said.

In truth it was an insipid affair. Forest had the glut of chances but, inexperienced and injury-ravaged, their lack of presence in attack served only to emphasise why David Platt is so keen to recruit a forward. A £2.5m bid for Ipswich Town's David Johnson was turned down last week and unless Platt finds someone soon it may undermine the rest of their season.

Wolves, it would seem, have less of a problem up front. Proudlock was loaned to Clyde at the start of the season and after scoring five goals in six games north of the border he has now scored six times for Wolves and is drawing inevitable, if somewhat tiresome, comparisons with Steve Bull.

After a tepid opening half the 19-year-old became the pivotal figure. First he turned a snap shot beyond Dave Beasant only for the ball to ricochet off the post and into the goalkeeper's arms. Then, with eight minutes remaining and Forest pushing more bodies into attack, he sprinted clear of the home defence but aimed his shot too close to Beasant.

The winning goal was a similar break. Tony Dinning hoofed the ball out of his own defence and Proudlock was off and running again. This time he showed the composure to manoeuvre the ball on to his right foot, stepping inside Christian Edwards and Jermaine Jenas before picking out the bottom right-hand corner with a precise drive from 20 yards.

"He's similar to Steve Bull in that he knows where the goal is," said Jones. "He's got a big future and if he's half as successful as Bully he will be a hero here."

Chris Bart-Williams, Forest's leading scorer despite forging an impressive new role as a ball-playing centre-half, saw a free-kick headed off the goal-line by Kevin Muscat, and David Freeman had a curling left-foot effort tipped over by the goalkeeper Michael Oakes.

Apart from that, however, if Forest were not running down cul-de-sacs they were finding blind alleys. "We had a lot of possession but you never really thought we looked like scoring," admitted Platt.